Too Far
by Veritas Found
Summary: This is a continuation of the “Learned to See” collaboration. You’ll prob’ly want to read the other five before reading this one. This starts after “Miko.” And I apologize in advance for the ending.


**Title**: "Too Far"  
**Author**: Wish Wielder  
**Pairing**: Loki/Mayura  
**Fandom**: Matantei Loki Ragnarok  
**Disclaimer:** "Matantei Loki Ragnarok" and all respective properties are © Sakura Kinoshita. Meg D. (Wish Wielder) does not, has never, nor will ever own "Matantei Loki Ragnarok."  
**Summary:** This is a continuation of the "Learned to See" collaboration. You'll prob'ly want to read the other five before reading this one. This starts after "Miko." And I apologize in advance for the ending.  
**Notes:** Bah, but I really shouldn't be doing this. What with moving Friday and everything, but when Plunnies strike they strike me hard. First jab at a MaLoRa fic, and I honestly hope I don't screw up the characters too horribly (if I do, I'll be more than happy to remove this and let someone else write the happenings after "Miko"), since I haven't seen the whole series yet. 'Nyway, enough of my idiotic rambling. To the point! The stories so far:

"**Learned to See" by Icka M. Chif**  
"**Snakes and Ladders" by Ysabet**  
"**Reflections" by C-nonymous**  
"**Slaying Shadows" by LokiGirl**, and  
"**Miko" by Earth Star**

I ask that you read those before reading this, because if you don't I'm afraid you'll be terribly confused.

"_**Too Far"**_

Freyr had put up with a lot from Loki over the years. Granted, it was safe to say that everyone had, but Freyr took his case personally. After all, how many other gods could say their precious sister was head-over-heels in love with the troublesome man?

…that really didn't need to be answered, and could hardly be justified on his part, but it was still good enough for him. Besides, this last stunt had been low, even on Loki's part, and in more ways than one.

Making his Yamato Nadeshiko - _his_ Yamato Nadeshiko! - his high priestess? Unspeakable! The news had left the poor man flabbergasted, to say the least - more so than when Heimdall had arrived home and claimed to have opened her third eye. This was below the belt, even for someone like Loki - and Loki was known to score some good blows in his time. This crossed that line, though, and…well, he couldn't rightly find the words to describe just how pissed off the news had left him. Taking his Yamato Nadeshiko from him and, at the same time, breaking his sister's heart. That had been the whole reason he had been so against Freya liking Loki; he had known all along that Freya would leave hurt, and he had been exactly right. He had spent the better half of his morning consoling the distraught Freya and cursing Loki to Niflheim and back.

Which is exactly what brought him here, straddling an equally enraged Gullinbursti inside the shattered frame of a window in the front sitting room of Loki's mansion. He ignored the plaster and debris flying through the air around him, his eyes narrowing on the entrance to the hall that he knew would lead him to Loki. Somewhere. He had to be somewhere.

"LOKI!" he roared, kicking his heels into Gullinbursti's sides to spur the pig onwards. He crashed through the door, and he heard a strangled cry from farther down the hall. A feral smirk, one that looked most unnatural on the normally cheery god's face, curved his lips as he leaned closer to Gullinbursti. The pig let out a chant of "buu buu!" before flying towards a door near the end of the hall and into a kitchen, where he saw Yamino twitching and gawking through yet another doorway that led to the backyard. And on the porch, besides the spastic Yamino, sat Loki and his Yamato Nadeshiko. He wasn't entirely comfortable with how close they were, or with how her hand was questionably close to the small god's leg, or even with how Loki looked to be reclining. The whole scene was a bit too suggestive for him, and not at all appropriate for his Yamato Nadeshiko.

He hopped off Gullinbursti, who released a series of angry snorts and "buu"s, and stalked towards the doorway. He walked past Yamino, who had immediately fallen to his knees and thanked him for not destroying yet another door (he could really care less at the moment), and stopped before Loki. He looked between Loki and his Yamato Nadeshiko, studying the scene carefully, before his eyes came to rest on Loki. He almost smirked in satisfaction as he saw Loki visibly wince, a reaction not easily garnered from the master of trickery.

"G-good morning, Kaitou-san," his Yamato Nadeshiko said politely.

"You are planning on paying for the damages you've caused to my house, correct?" Loki asked. He nearly scoffed at that, and he didn't fully understand why he didn't. Loki knew he had a hard enough time coming up with rent money - how the Hel could he be expected to pay for construction, as well?

"What is she doing here?" he asked instead, pointing an accusing finger at his Yamato Nadeshiko. The girl winced, something he hadn't fully intended yet didn't really mind at this point (if the rumors about her newly appointed status as High Priestess to the trickster god were true, that is). Loki seemed to have regained his composer, though Yamino was still whimpering over his destroyed window and doors, and he gave him a cool look. Honestly, didn't he even have the courage to face him in his true form?

"Mayura is training," he said simply.

"Training?" Freyr asked, feeling that lead weight sink farther down his stomach.

"Yes, training," his fellow god replied.

"Loki-kun made me his High Priestess last night, Kaitou-san," his Yamato Nadeshiko said as she gave him a somewhat shy glance. If he hadn't been so furious at the moment, he might have swooned. However, this wasn't the time for silly love games, however tempting it was to succumb to those desires, and he gave her a sharp look. Gentler than the one he offered Loki, but still piercing. He watched her squirm under his gaze, almost grinning in satisfaction. For a Vanir, he was enjoying this a bit too much.

"Is that a problem, Freyr?" Loki asked him coolly, and he turned his eye back to the would-be child.

"It most certainly is a problem, Loki!" he said furiously. "That Yamato Nadeshiko is _mine_! She should be _my_ nisou!"

"B-but, Kaitou-san, I'm not a nisou," she said meekly. "I'm just a miko."

"Well, you technically are a nisou now," Loki said, grinning at her. Freyr watched as her cheeks turned a lovely shade of scarlet, and he scowled.

"No!" he said suddenly, sharply. Loki and his Yamato Nadeshiko turned startled gazes his way, and he grit his teeth. "Never! This Freyr will not accept this!"

"Kaitou-san, I -" she started, but he plowed on ahead, ignoring her protests. He knelt before her, clasping her hands in his own and shaking from the raw emotion rocketing through him.

"Yamato Nadeshiko, this Freyr cannot allow you to continue in the service of such a vile man!" he said. He brought her hands close to his chest, watching her through sparkling azure eyes. "I beg you, denounce your title as his priestess and become mine instead!"

"Kaitou-san, really, I -" she started, only to be cut off again.

"You know she can't just drop her title like that, Freyr," Loki said. He leaned back and sighed obnoxiously, waving a hand in the air. "Honestly, I thought even someone as daft as you knew that."

"Loki-kun! That wasn't very nice!" his Yamato Nadeshiko said, and his heart swelled. Defending him still, even though she was in service of another god!

"Ah! But she can, and you must, Yamato Nadeshiko!" he said, looking back to her. She looked at him and frowned. "This Freyr is a powerful god, and you will be well taken care of! This Freyr promises on his life!"

Loki snorted, and he shot him a withering glare.

"A powerful god? You're just a Vanir, Freyr," he said. "What can you really do, other than knocking people up and making things grow?"

"Y-you underestimate my abilities!" Freyr shot back vehemently. How dare he! Yes, he was no Æsir, but that didn't mean he wasn't capable in a battle! Hadn't he shown Loki that before? And how dare he belittle the job of a fertility god so! Fertility gods were essential to the survival of the worlds, and he just dismissed his job as if it had been that morning's garbage!

"What kind of god are you, Kaitou-san?" his Yamato Nadeshiko asked, and he turned back to her, his chest swelling with pride as he boastfully answered, "A fertility god!"

"A…fertility god?" she asked, her eyes wide. He shot Loki a look as he heard him snicker, and any gusto he had gained at her question deflated when she asked, "You mean like those little statues women put in their rooms when they want to get pregnant?"

"Y-yes, in a way…" he said. This was not going at all how he had planned. She was supposed to be in his arms by now, declaring her undying devotion and love for him! Instead she was comparing him to a wooden figurine!

"Are you done yet, Freyr? Mayura does have a lot left to learn, and I think we've wasted enough time humoring your brainless questions," Loki said. Freyr stood suddenly, his cape swishing dramatically behind him. If only that Thor was around, he could probably have gotten some good lightning going to really add to the imposing effect. Which, he failed to notice, was completely lost on Loki.

"No! I shall not leave until Yamato Nadeshiko becomes this Freyr's nisou!" he said. He jabbed a finger at Loki, and Loki crossed his eyes looking at it with a disinterested frown before looking back up at him.

"Freyr, you know that's not possible," he said. "Mayura has already agreed to be my priestess, and the ceremony's already complete. I already told you: it's not like she can just switch deities."

"I know that!" Freyr said, stomping his foot into the ground. "That is why this Freyr challenges Loki, god of fire, chaos, and trickery, to a duel!"

"A duel?" his Yamato Nadeshiko asked, and he grinned smugly.

"A duel," he reiterated, "to the death, with Yamato Nadeshiko as the prize."

-W-

Mayura visibly blanched. Surely Freyr couldn't be serious? A duel to the death? Over her?

To the _death_?

With _her_ as the _prize_?

He had to be making some kind of sick joke! And even if he wasn't, didn't she get a say in any of this? It was her life they were arguing over , after all! She had made the decision to become Loki-kun's priestess, so where was her decision when it came to all this posturing and threat-making? She had never been comfortable enough around Freyr to allow herself to become his priestess, and even now he was making it sound more like he wanted her as a bride instead of a simple nisou.

And that just wouldn't do. She would be Loki-kun's bride and Loki-kun's alone.

Wait, what?

She brushed the thought aside, determining to think it over more later. Right now she had to stop two gods from duking it out in what was in Freyr's case a jealous fit. Yes, it was very flattering, but poor Yamino-san had been through enough already; she really didn't want to add a destroyed yard to the list of things skyrocketing his blood pressure.

"Freyr, you can't be serious!" Loki said, his eyes widening slightly. She looked at him, a frown marring her face as she saw him sit up straighter. Was that a hint of fear on his face? No, it couldn't be…Loki-kun wasn't afraid of anything! …except water, but that was another matter all together.

"This Freyr is very serious!" Freyr said, his finger still jabbed intrudingly in Loki's face. "You will fight me in order to keep Yamato Nadeshiko as your high priestess! If I win, she becomes my nisou, but if you win you may keep her."

"I'm not going to fight you, Freyr," Loki said. "This is ridiculous!"

"Yes!" she said, jumping to her knees. "Really, why do you have to fight? That's so stupid! And what about my say in all this?"

"As a nisou, you cannot oppose your god," Freyr said, "but this Freyr knows the truth, Yamato Nadeshiko! This Freyr knows that you wish to be _his_ nisou, not the nisou of the lowly Loki! This Freyr will fight for you and free you from his clutches!"

"But I don't want to be freed!" she sighed, exasperated. After everything that had happened in the past few days, this really shouldn't have phased her, but she still found it taxing. If anything, she had expected to defend her decision to her father - not to Freyr. "I chose to be Loki-kun's priestess, and I still choose to be his priestess!"

"This won't change anything, Freyr," Loki said steadily. "You cannot win my high priestess in a stupid duel."

"It's the rules, trickster!" Freyr said. "If this Freyr defeats you in a duel, this Freyr can claim your nisou as his own!"

"I don't think I'm going to be able to talk him out of it, Mayura," Loki said, looking at her with a weary grin. He glowed for a minute, a small flash of light momentarily blinding her, and when she looked at him again he was sitting before her in his older, handsomer form. He looked at Yamino, who was gawking at him in a rather un-Yamino-ish kind of way, before grinning at him.

"L-Loki-sama, you can't be serious!" his son cried, and Loki sighed before shrugging.

"Freyr's not going to leave until he gets his fight," he said. He shot Freyr a dark look. "Even if Mayura has clearly said who she'd rather serve."

"Yamato Nadeshiko would rather serve this Freyr!" Freyr retorted, his finger still poking at Loki. Mayura sighed again, louder this time.

"Yamino-san, I think we're going to need the medical kit," she said. Yamino sighed and nodded, turning slowly to walk back into the house. Narugami had been dead on about needing a repairing kit, though Yamino had a sinking feeling that they would be needing a 'God-Repairing Kit' along with the 'House-Repairing Kit.'

-W-

The backyard of the old mansion had easily become an impromptu battleground, and it wasn't long before the two gods were facing off. Loki stood, Laevatein in hand, a good distance across from Freyr, who had Gullinbursti floating by his head. Mayura sat on the steps of the porch, Yamino and Fenrir standing nervously to her side. Ecchan was in her lap, the small shikigami's head burrowed against her stomach and emitting soft "punyaan"s. Mayura hugged it closer, biting her lip in worry.

In a way, it was flattering, but she still didn't want her god and her friend - if you could call Freyr a friend, that is - fighting over her. It just seemed so primary school to her, and it made her more than a bit nervous. She was confident in Loki's abilities, but what if he did lose? She had almost lost him once; she really didn't think she could go through that again. Never again.

"I wish they'd stop this," she said, hugging Ecchan closer.

"Keh, Daddy won't lose!" Fenrir said, closing his eyes and looking away. "Especially against that marshmallow-for-brains Freyr!"

"Nii-san…" Yamino sighed. He looked down at the first aid kit in his hands and shook his head. He had a feeling this wouldn't turn out well.

In the yard, Loki was watching Freyr with an impatient frown. He had better things to do than duel the misguided fertility god - especially over something as pointless as this. He had no intention of taking the title and his gift away from Mayura; she was his, after all.

His?

Yes, his. No point in denying it now, especially since she had become his high priestess. If that wasn't a claim he didn't know what was. And the fact that Freyr was daring to challenge that claim only irked him further; Freyr of all people should know that you don't try to take something away from a god.

Then again, he wasn't exactly a stellar example of that rule now, was he?

"Prepare yourself!" Freyr cried, throwing his arm out in what he obviously thought was a threatening manner. Loki raised a brow at him, unimpressed by the display, yet made no other move. He had learned long ago that it was best to let your opponent make the first move, and he knew that Freyr wasn't a strategical kind of fighter and would most likely not follow that logic. His grip on Laevatein tightened and his brow furrowed in a determined glare. Fight to the death, huh? For Freyr's sake, he hoped he could avoid that.

"Gullinbursti!" Freyr shouted, looking to his flying pig. "Go!"

Loki fought the urge to snicker at this; Freyr was acting like one of those trainers from that monster show Fenrir watched some days. But this was reality, and he knew it would hurt if Gullinbursti hit him. He easily side-stepped the pig, and he cocked a brow at Freyr.

"Honestly, Freyr," he said, "isn't a duel for a priestess supposed to be between the two gods, not a god and a servant?"

"Fighting Gullinbursti is as good as fighting me!" Freyr snapped. Loki rolled his eyes and once again side-stepped the charging pig. Gullinbursti let out an enraged cry and charged again, flashing his eyes in an attempt to blind him. He raised his arm above his eyes, swinging Laevatein like a club when Gullinbursti charged yet again. The crescent slammed into the pig's side, sending him pivoting off course.

"Gullinbursti!" Freyr screamed, tears streaming down his face as he saw his pig slam into the ground. He heard the impressed gasp burst from Mayura's throat, and he grit his teeth. He would not be upstaged by someone like Loki!

"You can beat him, Daddy!" he heard Fenrir cheer.

"Punyaan! Punyaan punyaan!" Ecchan called. He received a small amount of satisfaction when Mayura didn't call out encouragement to his opponent, but then again she didn't cheer for him, either.

"Can we end this now?" Loki asked, sounding bored. He dropped Laevatein on the ground, leaning against the crescent tip and watching Freyr with a face that matched his dull tone. He propped an arm on the wide end and leaned his head against his fist, and this only infuriated Freyr even more. The former thief was shaking with rage, fighting the urge to run over and rip Loki's head off. It wasn't exactly classy, but damn if he wasn't pissed.

He was a Vanir. He wasn't used to feeling this bloodthirsty; it wasn't exactly in his providence.

On the porch, Mayura was now refusing to even look at the fight. She knew she had to be hurting Ecchan, with how tight she was squeezing it, but she couldn't seem to loosen her grip. Ecchan wasn't protesting, though, so for the time being she didn't release it. She heard Fenrir and Ecchan shouting their encouragement to Loki, but Yamino was remaining as silent as her. She just couldn't comment, or watch. She didn't want them fighting, and really it took all she had to keep herself from using her new fire magic to blast either Freyr for suggesting the duel or Loki for accepting the challenge. She didn't understand why either of them had to be so stupid, but...

'Please, Kami-sama,' she quietly prayed, 'stop these idiots before one of them gets hurt!'

In the yard, Loki's eyes widened as a troubled voice rang through his mind. He stood a bit straighter, without really leaving his relaxed, taunting pose, and looked at Mayura. It was her voice, he knew...asking him to stop? He grinned slightly, his eyes softening. He had told her that being his priestess meant that he was the only god she served, and that included the god she prayed to. Or was that her plan all along, to get his attention and make him call off the fight?

"Loki-sama, watch out!"

"LOKI!"

His eyes shot open and he stood straighter, staring at Yamino and Mayura. Yamino had taken a step forward, his face marred with worry, and Mayura sat up ramrod straight, watching him through terrified eyes. He only had a second to contemplate this, however (and to register that Mayura had left off an honorific on his name), as the next thing he knew a heavy sphere had slammed itself into his back. Another second passed as his breath rushed out of him, but again he had no time to think; no sooner had Gullinbursti rammed into his back then he felt a burst of heat, followed by a blinding pain. He gritted his teeth and glared at Freyr, using the last of his strength to run over to him, reaching at his back and grabbing the glowing Gullinbursti, and wrap an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close as Gullinbursti grew brighter and hotter.

"What are you doing, you lunatic!" Freyr screamed, his eyes bugging out of his head. Loki only smirked as the light became too unbearable, and he grinned as he saw Freyr try to shield himself before he could no longer see anything.

On the porch, Mayura screamed. Fenrir and Yamino stood, watching wide-eyed as Gullinbursti exploded between the two gods, and it seemed that neither could say anything. Mayura's grip on Ecchan went lax, and the shikigami shook in her lap. A terrified "punyaan" leaked through its mouth, but she could not bring a hand to sooth the poor creature. She was too scared, too terrified, to even think of it. She slowly stood, every fiber in her body shaking, as she watched the dirt and smoke that filled the air. She couldn't see anything, couldn't feel anything...shouldn't she be able to feel Loki's aura? Where was it? Why couldn't she...where...

"Yamino-san, why can't I feel Loki-kun's aura?" she asked, her eyes drying in the dusty air. They refused to close, thinking that if they did they would miss something terribly important. "E-even if I can't see the shades as well as I first could, I should still be able to feel his aura, right?"

"I...I can't, either," Yamino said, concern delicately lacing his voice. She gulped, her eyes finally closing.

'Kami-sama, what's going on?' she prayed, her heart throbbing. 'Loki-kun...please let him be all right...I can't lose him, not again...'

"Daddy!" Fenrir called. "Daddy, are you ok?"

But she couldn't find the voice to ask. She couldn't find the heart to. If she called to him, and he didn't answer...

The veil begin to lift, the debris clearing to reveal a shadow in the draff. One shadow.

One.

And Mayura knew Loki didn't wear capes.

**owari/tsuzuku**

**a.n.:**_Well, really, it is, ain't it? It's an end for me, but hopefully someone will get the inspiration to continue it._

_C'mon…I think I gave y'all a good enough cliffie for _someone_ to think of _something_! Y something tells me I'm gonna be getting a lot of death threats over that cliffie, too…_

_About Gullinbursti!Bomb: I'm not entirely sure if he can go 'splodey, but it honestly wouldn't surprise me. Also, Freyr seems a bit OOC to me, but I don't seem him as entirely brainless. Yeah, he's a bit daft (ok, a lot daft), but I've seen him act like he's got a head on his shoulders. …not that common, but I've seen it. -wince-_

_And like I said: I apologize for any OOC-ness. First MaLoRa fic, y still haven't seen the whole series, but damn if I don't love it like I had. Hope y'all enjoyed this, and I really hope someone continues it! It's too fun a series to just let it die after this. 3_

**Comments and constructive criticism welcomed. Please, don't flame. If you can't say your CC without flaming, don't bother. Flames will be used to fuel Az's bonfire for the yummy s'mores.**


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